Continuous opening in a shield layer

The present Application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/793,152 by Jon Bertrand et al entitled “A Continuous Opening in a Shield Layer,” filed on Aug. 2, 2024. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/793,152 is assigned to the assignee hereof and is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

This disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for capacitive touch/proximity sensors. In particular, this disclosure relates to systems and methods for enabling and optimizing wireless signal transmission through capacitive touch/proximity sensors.

Capacitive touch pads are frequently incorporated into electronic devices, such as laptop computers, to enable users to provide input and make selections using fingers or styli. In some cases, capacitive touch pads may include antennas operating on protocols like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, near field communications (NFC), or other protocols. Some capacitive touch pads use electrical shielding to prevent interference from the device's internal noise.

An example of an antenna embedded within a touchpad is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,985,466 issued to Yen-Liang Wu, et al. A multi-function Radio-Frequency device integrated into a computer system is disclosed and includes a substrate including a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, a touchpad area disposed on the first surface of the substrate for generating a touch signal according to a touch situation, an antenna disposed on the first surface and/or the second surface of the substrate for receiving and transmitting a Radio-Frequency signal, and a control module disposed on the second surface of the substrate and coupled to the touchpad area and the antenna for generating a touch control signal according to the touch signal and generating an identification signal according the to the Radio-Frequency signal to the computer system.

Another example is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020/0192542 issued to Wei-Hsiu Chang, et al. A method and a display device with an integrated antenna that are capable of efficiently utilizing internal space of the display device as well as avoiding interferences are introduced. The display device includes a display panel, the antenna being integrated in the inactive display area of the display panel, and a display driver. The display panel includes an active display area and an inactive display area. The display driver is coupled to the display panel and the antenna and is configured to control the antenna and the display panel in a time-sharing manner.

An example of an NFC antenna integrated into a touch screen is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2015/0062853 issued to Jianhua Li, et al. This reference discloses a touch screen having integrated an NFC antenna. The NFC antenna is arranged on the touch screen and is connected to a mainboard having a control chip. The NFC antenna is provided directly on the touch screen, thus combining a touch feature and the NFC feature into one. This prevents the problem of signal quality deterioration and reception failure due to wearing of the NFC antenna and inaccurate alignment, while at the same time, facilitates the antenna in receiving and transmitting signals, thus ensuring smooth communication.

Each of these references are herein incorporated by reference for all that they disclose.

A capacitance module may include a capacitance electrode on a first substrate; shielding material disposed on a second substrate where the second substrate may be aligned with the first substrate; an antenna where the shielding material may be between the antenna and the capacitance electrode; and a continuous opening may be defined in the shielding material. The continuous opening may include a branching shape where the branching shape may include a stem and multiple branches extending from the stem. The continuous opening may overlap with the antenna.

A first branch and a second branch of the multiple branches of the continuous opening may form a branch pair that aligns with a loop of the antenna.

The multiple branches may form at least one discontinuous ring shape.

The multiple branches may define a discontinuous annular region of shielding material.

The continuous opening may have the characteristic of minimizing the formation of eddy currents in the shielding material when the antenna is activated.

The continuous opening may have the characteristic of increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the antenna.

The capacitance module may include a third substrate where the third substrate may be aligned with the second substrate, the antenna and processing resources may be disposed on the third substrate, and the processing resources may be connected to the capacitance electrode on the first substrate.

The stem of the continuous opening may be in communication with an edge of the shielding material.

The stem may extend into a central region of the shield material defined by least one branch of the multiple branches of the continuous opening where the stem and at least one branch form a discontinuous annular region of the shield material.

The multiple branches of the continuous opening may form multiple discontinuous annular regions where at least two of the multiple discontinuous annular regions are electrically connected to each other with a shielding bridge.

The multiple discontinuous annular regions may be electrically connected to the rest of the shielding material that may be disposed on the second substrate.

A capacitance module may include a capacitance electrode on a first substrate; shielding material may be disposed on a second substrate where the second substrate may be aligned with the first substrate; and a continuous opening defined in the shielding material. The continuous opening may include a branching shape where the branching shape has a stem and multiple branches extending from the stem.

A first branch and a second branch of the multiple branches of the continuous opening may form a branch pair that aligns with a loop of the antenna.

The multiple branches may form at least one discontinuous ring shape.

The multiple branches may define a discontinuous annular region of shielding material.

The stem of the continuous opening may be in communication with an edge of the shielding material.

The stem may extend into a central region of the shield material defined by least one branch of the multiple branches of the continuous opening where the stem and at least one branch form a discontinuous annular region of the shield material.

The multiple branches of the continuous opening may form multiple discontinuous annular regions where at least two of the multiple discontinuous annular regions may be electrically connected to each other with a shielding bridge.

The multiple discontinuous annular regions may be electrically connected to the rest of the shielding material disclosed on the second substrate.

A portable electronic device may include shielding material disposed on a second substrate where the second substrate may be aligned with the first substrate; an antenna where the shielding material is between the antenna and the capacitance electrode; and a continuous opening defined in the shielding material. The continuous opening may include a branching shape, the branching shape may include a stem and multiple branches extending from the stem, and at least one branch of the multiple branches may be partially aligned with a loop of the antenna.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

This description provides examples, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention. Rather, the ensuing description will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing embodiments of the invention. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements.

Thus, various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, it should be appreciated that the methods may be performed in an order different than that described, and that various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, aspects and elements described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. It should also be appreciated that the following systems, methods, devices, and software may individually or collectively be components of a larger system, wherein other procedures may take precedence over or otherwise modify their application.

For purposes of this disclosure, the term “aligned” generally refers to being parallel, substantially parallel, or forming an angle of less than 35.0 degrees. For purposes of this disclosure, the term “transverse” generally refers to perpendicular, substantially perpendicular, or forming an angle between 55.0 and 125.0 degrees. For purposes of this disclosure, the term “length” generally refers to the longest dimension of an object. For purposes of this disclosure, the term “width” generally refers to the dimension of an object from side to side and may refer to measuring across an object perpendicular to the object's length.

For purposes of this disclosure, the term “electrode” may generally refer to a portion of an electrical conductor intended to be used to make a measurement, and the terms “route” and “trace” generally refer to portions of an electrical conductor that are not intended to make a measurement. For purposes of this disclosure in reference to circuits, the term “line” generally refers to the combination of an electrode and a “route” or “trace” portions of the electrical conductor. For purposes of this disclosure, the term “Tx” generally refers to a transmit line, electrode, or portions thereof, and the term “Rx” generally refers to a sense line, electrode, or portions thereof.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “electronic device” may generally refer to devices that can be transported and include a battery and electronic components. Examples may include a laptop, a desktop, a mobile phone, an electronic tablet, a personal digital device, a watch, a gaming controller, a gaming wearable device, a wearable device, a measurement device, an automation device, a security device, a display, a computer mouse, a vehicle, an infotainment system, an audio system, a control panel, another type of device, an athletic tracking device, a tracking device, a card reader, a purchasing station, a kiosk, or combinations thereof.

It should be understood that use of the terms “capacitance module,” “touch pad” and “touch sensor” throughout this document may be used interchangeably with “capacitive touch sensor,” “capacitive sensor,” “capacitance sensor,” “capacitive touch and proximity sensor,” “proximity sensor,” “touch and proximity sensor,” “touch panel,” “trackpad,” “touch pad,” and “touch screen.” The capacitance module may be incorporated into an electronic device.

It should also be understood that, as used herein, the terms “vertical,” “horizontal,” “lateral,” “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” “inner,” “outer,” etc., can refer to relative directions or positions of features in the disclosed devices and/or assemblies shown in the Figures. For example, “upper” or “uppermost” can refer to a feature positioned closer to the top of a page than another feature. These terms, however, should be construed broadly to include devices and/or assemblies having other orientations, such as inverted or inclined orientations where top/bottom, over/under, above/below, up/down, and left/right can be interchanged depending on the orientation.

In some cases, the capacitance module is located within a housing. The capacitance module may be underneath the housing and capable of detecting objects outside of the housing. In examples, where the capacitance module can detect changes in capacitance through a housing, the housing is a capacitance reference surface. For example, the capacitance module may be disclosed within a cavity formed by a keyboard housing of a computer, such as a laptop or other type of computing device, and the sensor may be disposed underneath a surface of the keyboard housing. In such an example, the keyboard housing adjacent to the capacitance module is the capacitance reference surface. In some examples, an opening may be formed in the housing, and an overlay may be positioned within the opening. In this example, the overlay is the capacitance reference surface. In such an example, the capacitance module may be positioned adjacent to a backside of the overlay, and the capacitance module may sense the presence of the object through the thickness of the overlay. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “reference surface” may generally refer to a surface through which a pressure sensor, a capacitance sensor, or another type of sensor is positioned to sense a pressure, a presence, a position, a touch, a proximity, a capacitance, a magnetic property, an electric property, another type of property, or another characteristic, or combinations thereof that indicates an input. For example, the reference surface may be a housing, an overlay, or another type of surface through which the input is sensed. In some examples, the reference surface has no moving parts. In some examples, the reference surface may be made of any appropriate type of material, including, but not limited to, plastics, glass, a dielectric material, a metal, another type of material, or combinations thereof.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “display” may generally refer to a display or screen that is not depicted in the same area as the capacitive reference surface. In some cases, the display is incorporated into a laptop where a keyboard is located between the display and the capacitive reference surface. In some examples where the capacitive reference surface is incorporated into a laptop, the capacitive reference surface may be part of a touch pad. Pressure sensors may be integrated into the stack making up the capacitance module. However, in some cases, the pressure sensors may be located at another part of the laptop, such as under the keyboard housing, but outside of the area used to sense touch inputs, on the side of the laptop, above the keyboard, to the side of the keyboard, at another location on the laptop, or at another location. In examples where these principles are integrated into a laptop, the display may be pivotally connected to the keyboard housing. The display may be a digital screen, a touch screen, another type of screen, or combinations thereof. In some cases, the display is located on the same device as the capacitive reference surface, and in other examples, the display is located on another device that is different from the device on which the capacitive reference surface is located. For example, the display may be projected onto a different surface, such as a wall or projector screen. In some examples, the reference surface may be located on an input or gaming controller, and the display is located on a wearable device, such as a virtual reality or augmented reality screen. In some cases, the reference surface and the display are located on the same surface, but on separate locations on that surface. In other examples, the reference surface and the display may be integrated into the same device, but on different surfaces. In some cases, the reference surface and the display may be oriented at different angular orientations with respect to each other.

depicts an example of an electronic device. In this example, the electronic device is a laptop. In the illustrated example, the electronic deviceincludes input components, such as a keyboardand a capacitive module, such as a touch pad, that are incorporated into a housing. The electronic devicealso includes a display. A program operated by the electronic devicemay be depicted in the displayand controlled by a sequence of instructions that are provided by the user through the keyboardand/or through the touch pad. An internal battery (not shown) may be used to power the operations of the electronic device.

The keyboardincludes an arrangement of keysthat can be individually selected when a user presses on a key with a sufficient force to cause the keyto be depressed towards a switch located underneath the keyboard. In response to selecting a key, a program may receive instructions on how to operate, such as a word processing program determining which types of words to process. A user may use the touch padto give different types of instructions to the programs operating on the computing device. For example, a cursor depicted in the displaymay be controlled through the touch pad. A user may control the location of the cursor by sliding his or her hand along the surface of the touch pad. In some cases, the user may move the cursor to be located at or near an object in the computing device's display and give a command through the touch padto select that object. For example, the user may provide instructions to select the object by tapping the surface of the touch padone or more times.

The touch padis a capacitance module that includes a stack of layers disposed underneath the keyboard housing, underneath an overlay that is fitted into an opening of the keyboard housing, or underneath another capacitive reference surface. In some examples, the capacitance module is located in an area of the keyboard's surface where the user's palms may rest while typing. The capacitance module may include a substrate, such as a printed circuit board or another type of substrate. One of the layers of the capacitance module may include a sensor layer that includes a first set of electrodes oriented in a first direction and a second layer of electrodes oriented in a second direction that is transverse the first direction. These electrodes may be spaced apart and/or electrically isolated from each other. The electrical isolation may be accomplished by depositing at least a portion of the electrodes on different sides of the same substrate or providing dedicated substrates for each set of electrodes. Capacitance may be measured at the overlapping intersections between the different sets of electrodes. However, as an object with a different dielectric value than the surrounding air (e.g., finger, stylus, etc.) approach the intersections between the electrodes, the capacitance between the electrodes may change. This change in capacitance and the associated location of the object in relation to the capacitance module may be calculated to determine where the user is touching or hovering the object within the detection range of the capacitance module. In some examples, the first set of electrodes and the second set of electrodes are equidistantly spaced with respect to each other. Thus, in these examples, the sensitivity of the capacitance module is the same in both directions. However, in other examples, the distance between the electrodes may be non-uniformly spaced to provide greater sensitivity for movements in certain directions.

In some cases, the displayis mechanically separate and movable with respect to the keyboard with a connection mechanism. In these examples, the displayand keyboardmay be connected and movable with respect to one another. The displaymay be movable within a range of 0 degrees to 180 degrees or more with respect to the keyboard. In some examples, the displaymay fold over onto the upper surface of the keyboardwhen in a closed position, and the displaymay be folded away from the keyboardwhen the displayis in an operating position. In some examples, the displaymay be orientable with respect to the keyboardat an angle between 35 to 135 degrees when in use by the user. However, in these examples, the displaymay be positioned at any angle desired by the user.

In some examples, the displaymay be a non-touch sensitive display. However, in other examples at least a portion of the displayis touch sensitive. In these examples, the touch sensitive display may also include a capacitance module that is located behind an outside surface of the display. As a user's finger or other object approaches the touch sensitive screen, the capacitance module may detect a change in capacitance as an input from the user.

While the example ofdepicts an example of the electronic device being a laptop, the capacitance sensor and touch surface may be incorporated into any appropriate device. A non-exhaustive list of devices includes, but is not limited to, a desktop, a display, a screen, a kiosk, a computing device, an electronic tablet, a smart phone, a location sensor, a card reading sensor, another type of electronic device, another type of device, or combinations thereof.

depicts an example of a portion of a capacitance module. In this example, the capacitance modulemay include a substrate, first setof electrodes, and a second setof electrodes. The first and second sets,of electrodes may be oriented to be transverse to each other. Further, the first and second sets,of electrodes may be electrically isolated from one another so that the electrodes do not short to each other. However, where electrodes from the first setoverlap with electrodes from the second set, capacitance can be measured. The capacitance modulemay include one or more electrodes in the first setor the second set. Such a substrateand electrode sets may be incorporated into a touch screen, a touch pad, a location sensor, a gaming controller, a button, and/or detection circuitry.

In some examples, the capacitance moduleis a mutual capacitance sensing device. In such an example, the substratehas a setof row electrodes and a setof column electrodes that define the touch/proximity-sensitive area of the component. In some cases, the component is configured as a rectangular grid of an appropriate number of electrodes (e.g., 8-by-6, 16-by-12, 9-by-15, or the like).

As shown in, the capacitance moduleincludes a capacitance controller. The capacitance controllermay include at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an analog front end (AFE) including amplifiers, a peripheral interface controller (PIC), another type of microprocessor, and/or combinations thereof, and may be implemented as an integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a combination of logic gate circuitry, other types of digital or analog electrical design components, or combinations thereof, with appropriate circuitry, hardware, firmware, and/or software to choose from available modes of operation.

In some cases, the capacitance controllerincludes at least one multiplexing circuit to alternate which of the sets,of electrodes are operating as drive electrodes and sense electrodes. The driving electrodes can be driven one at a time in sequence, or randomly, or drive multiple electrodes at the same time in encoded patterns. Other configurations are possible such as a self-capacitance mode where the electrodes are driven and sensed simultaneously. Electrodes may also be arranged in non-rectangular arrays, such as radial patterns, linear strings, or the like. A shield layer (see) may be provided beneath the electrodes to reduce noise or other interference. The shield may extend beyond the grid of electrodes. Other configurations are also possible.

In some cases, no fixed reference point is used for measurements. The touch controllermay generate signals that are sent directly to the first or second sets,of electrodes in various patterns.

In some cases, the component does not depend upon an absolute capacitive measurement to determine the location of a finger (or stylus, pointer, or other object) on a surface of the capacitance module. The capacitance modulemay measure an imbalance in electrical charge to the electrode functioning as a sense electrode which can, in some examples, be any of the electrodes designated in either set,or, in other examples, with dedicated-sense electrodes. When no pointing object is on or near the capacitance module, the capacitance controllermay be in a balanced state, and there is no signal on the sense electrode. When a finger or other pointing object creates imbalance because of capacitive coupling, a change in capacitance may occur at the intersections between the sets of electrodes,that make up the touch/proximity sensitive area. In some cases, the change in capacitance is measured. However, in alternative example, the absolute capacitance value may be measured.

While this example has been described with the capacitance modulehaving the flexibility of the switching the sets,of electrodes between sense and transmit electrodes, in other examples, each set of electrodes is dedicated to either a transmit function or a sense function.